“It haunts me,” Robertson told news partner The Enterprise. “Watching my son go up the street. Just letting him go like that.”

Sixty-four days after James J. Robertson left for a supposed probation-related urine test with men claiming to be constables, he has yet to return home.

Robertson, 37, was abducted just before 1 p.m., on New Year’s Day. His case remains under active investigation by the state police and after nearly three months of keeping quiet in public about their son’s disappearance, Robertson’s parents decided to share more about his life, painting a picture of a loving son, father and brother who turned back to alcohol and was arrested in the months before he was taken but, they say, was never a bad person.

“He was always the helper bee, he was always fixing the fence,” David Robertson said. “He had a big heart.”

In fact, Robertson had gone outside to the driveway to grab a wrench from the family’s boat the day he disappeared. Robertson, a welder by trade, was fixing his parent’s plumbing.

He came inside and told his parents that the two men who had just pulled up in front of the house had a document with his photo on it. They said they were taking Robertson to Dedham for a surprise urine test.

“They looked the part,” David Robertson said.

The men, later described by police as white men in their 50s, one 6 feet tall, the other slightly shorter, were wearing business casual clothing, sporting badges and handguns, revealed by open jackets.

“Are you going to be all right?” Virginia Robertson said she asked her son.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” he said.

Robertson was relaxed, his parents said, and went upstairs for a moment before getting into the Camry with the men. One got in the driver’s seat, the other sat with Robertson in the back. The last signal retrieved from Robertson’s cellphone before it went dark put its location near routes 138 and 128, near the Blue Hills.

Right away the incident raised some red flags. Why would they come on a holiday? Why would they take him for a urine test when he had been faithful, they said, in following the terms of his probation?

State probation officials are as baffled as everyone else as to who these impostors were.

“As part of the conditions of probation, an offender may be required to report to the probation department or a community corrections center where a drug test is administered by probation personnel. A probation officer may also test an offender during a supervision visit to the person’s home,” said Coria Holland, the communications director for the Office of the Commissioner of Probation. “However, it is not probation policy for a law enforcement professional from outside of the agency to transport an offender to a probation department specifically for drug testing.”

Robertson had three years sobriety when his marriage began to fall apart two years ago and he and his wife separated. He had his son from a previous relationship, now 10 years old, and he and his wife had a daughter together, now 3.

“All Jamie ever wanted was the two kids, the white picket fence, the dog and the cat,” Virginia Robertson said.

But the cards were stacked against Robertson and his wife. They lived with her in-laws, and she also had a child from a previous relationship. Still, even after they separated, “he adored his kids,” David Robertson said. “He always made time for his kids.”

Last August, Robertson was arrested for breaking and entering in Dedham. His behavior became “totally out of character” and he got more deeply into drugs and alcohol. His parents would not provide more details, citing the ongoing state police investigation.

Police also declined to comment substantially, saying it would not benefit the investigation.

The disappearance remains “under very active investigation by the Massachusetts State Police detective unit attached to the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office, working with the Avon Police Department and other public safety agencies,” spokesman David Traub said in a statement.

Anyone with information about Robertson’s whereabouts is encouraged to contact the state police tip line at 508-820-2121.

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